New Gene Editing Treatment Cuts Dangerous Cholesterol in a small study

A small group of patients  with severe heart diseases after trying all the available cholesterol-lowering medications statin volunteered in experimental study that use gene editing to lower cholesterol. The results published from the Verve Therapeutics of Boston at the AHA(American Heart Association) proved that the treatment reduce cholesterol levels and it appears to be safe without side effects. The study was conducted by Dr. Sekar Kathiresan. The trial involved 10 patients on the average age of 54. The patients received a single infusion of microscopic lipid nano particles that contains molecules to edit and block the gene PCSK9 which is responsible of cholesterol synthesis in particular the LDL cholesterol. The lipid spheres were injected through the blood stream to reach the liver. Once into the liver cells the spheres would open up and release two molecules. One of the molecules had instruction for the DNA to create a gene editing tool, the other one is a messenger to bring the editing gene tool to the appropriate gene. The gene editing tool works like a pencil and an eraser. The eraser delete the base of the targeted gene while the pencil writes a new one that will  turn off PCSK9. Patients that received the treatments dropped the level of LDL by 39 55%.

The end goal of this study and of this treatment was and it is to find a way to administer a single cholesterol-lowering treatment that can change the outcome of hearth diseases. Heart diseases are the most common diagnosed diseases and are the leading cause of death in America, by causing nearly 800,000 deaths every year. Most of those are related to cholesterol and LDL type. The connection between LDL and the gene was discovered at first by  French researchers, that found a mutation of the gene PCSK9 , was leading to high level of LDL cholesterols. The mutated gene founded in the French study was then looked at more accurately and it was discovered that there were people with a different mutation of the same gene that could have lower LDL cholesterol and protect from the disease. In fact, people with either one or both PCSK9 gene disabled had very low LDL levels. Different pharmaceutical company started then work on a treatment that could reproduce the same effect. The first  treatments created was made of ripetitive injections of antibodies that blocked the gene.  This new genetic editing technique is a great breakthrough regarding hearth disease because recreate the effect of the mutation find in certain people. 

In my opinion if this gene editing technique could  be administered on larger scale it could make the difference  between preventing and curing hearth diseases. The question at the moment is on the safety of this genetic treatment and on its long lasting effects. If those two aspects of the treatment could be controlled heart disease could become way more easy to fight. 

 3D angiogram scan of a heart with atherosclerosis 

Neuroimmune Crosstalk Role in Heart Tissue Repair

Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center have discovered that zebrafish regenerate heart tissue using communication signals between their nervous and immune systems. In general, myocardial infarctions happen when blood vessels supply blood and nutrients to the heart, resulting in portions of the afflicted heart tissue dying. Since humans are unable to grow new heart cells to reduce the damage, they instead form scar tissue that weakens the pumping power of the heart overtime. Unfortunately, even stem cell research has been proven to be unsuccessful here.

Interestingly enough, signals between the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and immune system were found to play pivotal roles in scarring cand tissue regeneration. To observe this communication, researchers induced an injury into the hearts and several macrophage receptors of zebrafish larvae. After noticing that ANS adrenergic signals resulted in macrophages multiply and regenerating heart muscle, the research team genetically engineered the fish larvae so that the signal couldn’t enter the macrophage cell. The research study found that interrupting the adrenergic ANS signal deactivated the macrophages and induced heart scarring. In difference, when macrophages are activated by these signals, they communicate with fibroblasts and promote regeneration at the damaged site, creating an environment conducive for the growth development and growth of blood, lymph, and heart vessels.

A rather interesting study, this research’s findings provide an insight into how the regeneration of human heart muscle tissue can be made foreseeable. By better understanding the differences in signaling between zebrafish and humans, biologists can better understand why cardiac tissue does not regenerate, find methods to navigate a path to initiating the regeneration process, and even how to better treat heart attack patients’ conditions.

For more information, the news article has been linked here and the published journal article has been linked here.

Does Moderate Drinking Protect Your Heart?

Gina Kolata speaks with cardiologists from the Cleveland Clinic and another from Massachusetts General Hospital regarding a paper published in JAMA Network Open which suggests that as alcohol consumption increased the risk for heart disease did as well. The study was conducted using the medical data of over 400,00 people who are participants in the U.K. Biobank. The average age of the participants was about 57 and consumed about 9 drinks a week. The researchers found that those who consumed less alcohol per week had other characteristics that decreased their risk for heart disease like weighing less and exercising more often than those who consumed higher amounts of alcohol and those that didn't drink at all.

To differentiate between whether alcohol consumption had an effect on the heart or other habits, behaviors, and characteristics that had an effect on the heart, researchers used Mendelian randomization. Researchers found that there were certain genetic variants that could predispose people to heavier or lighter drinking. These variants are randomly distributed throughout the population. This way, researchers can ask whether or not those with these variants that are linked to higher alcohol consumption are more likely to experience heart diseases. 

Conclusively, the study found that moderate drinking had no effect on heart disease. I found this article interesting because the method of Mendelian randomization was used to study variants that could potentially cause people to drink more or less per week. Because these variants are randomly distributed, it is more effective. This was an important factor in terms of completing the study as it involved measuring how much people drank per week. To use genetics to provide reason for why individuals drink more or less than others was an interesting approach.

Animal Protein

A article by the University of Eastern Finland explains how A diet rich in animal protein and meat in particular is not good for the health, a new study finds, providing further backing for earlier research evidence. Men who favored animal protein over plant-based protein in their diet had a greater risk of death in a 20-year follow-up than men whose diet was more balanced in terms of their sources of protein.



According to data published by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), consumers are expected to eat 222.2 pounds (100.8 kilo) of red meat and poultry this year, up from 216.9 pounds per person in 2017. That will surpass the previous record of 221.9 pounds per person, set in 2004,

Fighting Obesity

 An article  by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign explains how Scientists have developed new purple corn hybrids with differing combinations of phenols in the pericarp that fight obesity, inflammation and insulin resistance, a new study in mice suggests. The pericarp also provides the food industry with a new source of colorants and farmers with a new value added product for their crops.



The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that, for 2015-2016 in the U.S., 39.8% of adults aged 20 and over were obese (including 7.6% with severe obesity) and that another 31.8% were overweight. Obesity rates have increased for all population groups in the United States over the last several decades.
More than 100 million U.S. adults are now living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, according to a new report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report finds that as of 2015, 30.3 million Americans, 9.4 percent of theU.S. population have diabetes.

Genes Behind Deadly Heart Condition Identified

    Pulmonary arterial hypertension has a mortality rate of 50% within five years and in some cases doctors could not determine the exact cause of it. Its most often seen in people with other heart or lung conditions however it can affect others and in about 20% of cases no obvious cause could be found. However in recent study with over 1,000 PAH patients with no known cause has revealed 5 genes to be the cause of the disease, four of which were previously thought to not affect it at all. It was found that the people with these gene mutations fail to produce proteins necessary to maintain the structure and function of body tissues.

   This is another example of how genetics can be used to improve current treatments and develop new ones for diseases that were previously hard to treat or even diagnose as previous information and methods just did not provide what was necessary. Genetic findings like this and other Genetic technologies like CRISPR could ultimately lead to an overhaul of how medicine works. We are coming ever closer to being able to correct heredity diseases before they ever even show and perhaps even "improve the genes" of children still in development like in the movie Gattaca. However it is still too early to see if this could actually become a reality or how the overall populace would react to such technologies.

Article - http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43727026
Journal - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03672-4

Working Out Bad Heart Genetics

Heart health is an important factor in living a long prosperous life, but certain genetic heart conditions may hinder the ability for some to have such longevity towards life. High Cholesterol, heart attacks, strokes, and abnormal heart rhythms can all be some common examples of genetic conditions that may affect the heart in a negative way.

Genetically inherited heart conditions can come as a common occurrence, or as a rare event that both have negative impacts on who it was passed down to. Improvements in technology allow for better detection of heart conditions of varying risk. Early detection may help to prevent or reduce the risk of genetically inherited heart conditions and can help to prevent further generations from experiencing such negative effects. 

However, studies show a promising outlook on heart health through daily physical activity. A study by the UK Biobank database had surveyed hundreds of thousands of people with genetically inherited heart conditions and found that those who participate in some form of physical activity had a reduced risk of heart attack and stroke even with the predisposed heart condition. It is important to understand that physical activity isn't the only path in having a healthy heart. A healthy diet, coupled with mental stimulation can allow for a reduced risk in heart conditions even if it has a high genetic risk. 

References:

Link to article about heart - exercise study

Link to advancements in heart health detection.

Learning from our parents' heart health mistakes

This study demonstrated the differences of heart health between Americans in the 1960s and today, and also the differences between American heart health and indigenous South Americans known as the Tsimane. CT scans of 705 Tsimane adults ages 40-94 showed that 9 out of 10 adults had clean coronary arteries and were at no risk of heart disease. It was shown that an eighty-year-old Tsimane has the same vascular health as an American in their mid-50s.

Considering the extreme diet differences between North and South Americans definitely plays a significant role in heart health separate from the impact cigarettes make. The diet of the Tsimane consists of protein and unprocessed complex carbs that are high in fiber. This combined with their very active lifestyles is very much the opposite of many North American lives.

The absence of cigarette smoking and artery-clogging saturated fats and improval of our sedentary lifestyles will bring down the current statistic of 1.7 million Americans succumbing to heart diseases each year.
Heart Health 
Smoking in the 1960s